


my baby just cares for me

by particularlyexistence



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Canon typical character death, Except it gets fixed, Fix-It, Fluff and Smut, Love Confessions, M/M, Quentin Coldwater Lives, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 05:51:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18888454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/particularlyexistence/pseuds/particularlyexistence
Summary: “Motherfuck,” Eliot said as they all landed in a heap back on Earth. He looked around at his friends around him, all in similar states of disrepair from being dropped unceremoniously. Then he saw Q.Quentin. They did it. Julia must have seen him too, because she threw herself onto him into a hug, shoulders shaking with sobs that she was burying against his shoulder.





	my baby just cares for me

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fiction I’ve written in some time, but once I started it I couldn’t stop. This takes place in a universe in which Eliot and the others went to get Quentin back from the Underworld because they _would_. 
> 
> Title from _My Baby Just Cares for Me_ , a jazz standard first recorded by Nina Simone.  
> 
> 
> Biggest thanks in the world to [portraitofemmy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/portraitofemmy/pseuds/portraitofemmy) who held my hand through the writing process, encouraged me, and also beta’d this fic.

_“My baby don't care who knows it,  
My baby just cares for me.”_

“Mother _fuck_ ,” Eliot said as they all landed in a heap back on Earth. He looked around at his friends around him, all in similar states of disrepair from being dropped unceremoniously. Then he saw Q. _Quentin_. They did it. Julia must have seen him too, because she threw herself onto him into a hug, shoulders shaking with sobs that she was burying against his shoulder. 

Eliot was sitting up now, brushing his hair out of his face, Margo pressed close to his side. Julia had released Q from her embrace, but was still close to Q, talking quietly and rapidly to him. Quentin, for what it was worth, was nodding and listening, eyes rimmed in red from unspent tears. Julia leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek, whispering one more thing before Q stood up shakily and made his way across the short distance between them to Eliot. 

Suddenly, Margo was gone from Eliot’s side and he was watching Q walk towards him, his own eyes filling with tears that he rapidly tried to blink away. Q threw himself into Eliot’s arms, embracing him tightly and Eliot could feel the damp press of his face against his neck. 

“Q, Quentin, _fuck_ , we did it,” Eliot murmured into his hair, basically rocking the other man against his chest. He heard Q mutter something against his chest, but it was muffled and unclear so Eliot laughed softly, “What was that?” 

He pulled back from Eliot’s chest, only a little, and blinked up at him with tears in his eyes. “You did,” he said, clearly now, “I. Thank you. I wasn’t …” he trailed off, pressing his face against Eliot again. 

Eliot held him for another moment, before saying softly against him, “You should go see everyone else. Then we can talk, okay?” 

Quentin looked at him again and nodded slowly, moving to pull away but squeezing Eliot’s hand as he stepped back into the group.

Q wandered off to see the others - Margo, Alice, Penny23, _hell_ , even Kady had helped. As Eliot watched him go, watched the others hug Q his throat started getting tight. Eliot ducked out of the room and went to the bedroom that he’d been given in the penthouse, feeling overwhelmed. He fell back onto the bed, breath hitching a little as he finally let the tears fall, covering his face with his hands. He was crying for Q, for the life he gets to live, and he was crying for himself, for the chance to try again. 

Eliot wasn’t sure how long he had been laying in the room when there was a timid knock on the door and it was pushed open to reveal Q’s face, peeking around the wood. Eliot sat up, wiping his face and giving him a small smile. 

The door closed behind Quentin as he entered the room, turning the lock before he walked towards Eliot. He sat on the bed next to El, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. 

There was a pause, a moment of uncertainty, and then Eliot was curling an arm around Q’s back, pulling him against his side before speaking, voice quiet, “I. I can’t -,” he cut himself off, trying to find the words, “I can’t believe we found you. And you came back with us.” 

Quentin pressed closer to his side. “Of course I did. I. I didn’t actually want to be there. I just. Thought that if I needed to die... to save you all, it would be worth it.” 

Eliot shook his head a little. “ _God_ , Q, you’re so,” he breathed in, shakily, “You’re so _good_.”

Quentin sniffled from against his side. “I couldn’t just. Let you die.”

“Now you know how I feel,” Eliot quipped back, “Why don’t we just stop doing that? Dying on each other, I mean.” 

Quentin laughed, “That’s probably a good idea. Being brought back from the Underworld can’t be good for you.” 

There was a brief period of silence then, not awkward, just comfortable. The two of them stayed pressed close, listening to each other breathe, enjoying the fact that they were both _there_. 

Finally, Eliot spoke again, voice quiet and surprisingly calm, “So. I wanted to tell you this as soon as the monster was gone,” he paused, inhaling deeply, “Obviously I couldn’t.”

Q pulled away slightly, tilting his head to look up at Eliot, confusion clear on his features, “Tell me what?” 

Eliot paused, for only a moment, to get his thoughts in order. “I. I had a lot of time to think,” he began and Q continued to watch his face closely, “I’m sorry. I lied to you, in the throne room.” 

It took Quentin a moment before it registered, but he made a small sound as he realized. “ _Oh._ ”

“I was. Afraid. And you asked me if I wanted to try again and I said no,” he shrugged, helplessly, “That was a lie. I. I wanted to, but it scared me. This world is a lot different than Fillory.” 

“ _El_ ,” Quentin breathed, cupping Eliot’s face, “We work. We know that.” 

Eliot laughed, self deprecatingly, “ _I_ know that. I was - ,” he shook his head, “I’m not as brave as you.” 

Quentin shook his head, “You are, Eliot, you really are. I know you, I’ve known you longer than anyone.” 

“I understand if. Maybe you don’t want this anymore. I’ll still be here, beside you. But. I would _really_ like to give it a shot,” Eliot paused and looked away for a moment, “If you’ll have me.” 

Quentin laughed, unbidden and soft, “ _Jesus_ , Eliot, of course I still want you. Want this. I was best friends with a monster for months, just because it looked like you.” 

Eliot was– Well, he was overwhelmed, to say the least. Without hesitation he ducked his head down, pressing their lips together gently, trying to convey all of his feelings in one small kiss. 

Quentin kissed back, turning a little and wrapping his arms around Eliot’s neck. He sighed happily against Eliot’s mouth, relaxing into the kiss. 

They drew away from each other - slightly - after a short time, both of them smiling unconsciously, small, secret smiles. Eliot tugged Q’s hair a little, playfully, bumping their noses together.

“Let me take care of you, baby,” Eliot said, voice gentle and warm, “Lay back.” 

He could see Quentin’s breath catch in his throat as he followed the instruction and laid back against the pillows, looking up at Eliot with his _big-beautiful-wide-earnest_ eyes. 

_Fuck_. Eliot was so gone for him. 

“You. You don’t have to,” Q said, voice already rough, eyes searching Eliot’s face.

“Let me,” Eliot murmured against his mouth, “I want to.” 

Quentin made a small, desperate noise and pulled Eliot impossibly closer, tugging the length of Eliot’s long body against his own. 

Eliot began trailing his mouth across Quentin’s jaw and down his neck, kissing and biting at the soft skin of his throat. He sucked for a moment at the base of Q’s neck, before licking over the spot and humming at the small bruise that he’d made on the pale skin. 

“ _Eliot_ ,” Q groaned, “Please, do something, anything.” 

“Impatient,” Eliot teased in response, pressing one more gentle kiss over the bruise before working Q’s shirt over his head, thumbs flicking over his nipples once the cloth was out of the way. 

He trailed long fingers down Q’s chest, leaning forward to press his mouth to Q’s skin, following his fingers. Quentin shivered above him, fingers clutching at the blankets underneath of them. He nuzzled his face against the soft spread of hair on Quentin’s lower abdomen, thumbs brushing gently against his hips, fingers spread along his waist.

Eliot got Quentin’s jeans unbuttoned, tugging them off of his hips, before sliding down to remove his pants, pressing a gentle kiss to Q’s ankle bone as he pulled the jeans off of his legs. Eliot blinked up at Q and smiled a little when he saw the soft flush of pink across his face, down his chest. 

Once the jeans were removed, Eliot did the same with Q’s boxers, so that Quentin was bare beneath him. Q was flushed and squirming a little, reaching for Eliot, “El, please,” he tugged on Eliot’s shirt, “Off.” 

Eliot listened, unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off, pulling his undershirt over his head. Eliot leaned down then and kissed Quentin, pressing his tongue against Q’s lips. He opened, allowing Eliot’s tongue access to his mouth, moaning softly against Eliot as he deepened the kiss. 

Eliot reached for the nightstand, tugging a bottle of lube and a condom from the drawer. “I could do this with magic,” he said, shrugging, “But I want to take care of you tonight.” 

Quentin nodded rapidly, “That’s, uh, that’s good. I. Uh. Do we need the condom?” 

Eliot cocked his head, blinking at Q, who stuttered out, “It’s. I just. We’ve never really used them before. And. I haven’t been with anyone in. A long time,” he paused, “And the monster wasn’t really interested in that so. I. Only if you want to.”

Eliot paused for a moment, a slow smile crossing his face, as he leaned over and tossed the condom back into the drawer. Once the condom was out of the way, he pressed their mouths together again, drawing a soft sound from Quentin. 

Eliot took a moment to pull his own pants off, then pressed his body against Q’s, skin to skin. They kissed then, for what felt like ages. Their bodies pressed together and warm against each other, taking time to enjoy the closeness. After a while though, Q was squirming again, his cock hard against Eliot’s. Eliot laughed against his mouth and then drew away, trailing a hand down Q’s body to wrap around his dick, stroking gently. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Q bit out, back arching slightly at the touch, “Eliot, please, I need. More. Anything.” 

Eliot just looked at him, Q’s face flushed, eyes blown wide, lips slightly swollen from kissing. _God_ , Eliot would give him anything he asked for.

Eliot kept one hand on Q’s cock, grabbing the bottle of lube with his free hand. He fumbled with the bottle, managing to open it with one hand, before smiling apologetically at Q. He removed the hand from Q’s dick, earning him a whine, but then he squeezed lube onto his fingers and the whine turned into a soft, needy sound. 

He dropped the bottle back onto the bed beside them, trailing his hand past Q’s balls, pressing one finger against his entrance. He looked up at Q, who just nodded jerkily at him, “ _Please_ , El.” 

Eliot pressed his finger inside, relishing in the soft, almost desperate sound that came from Q. He pressed slowly, before crooking his finger, watching Q’s face for signs of discomfort. There were none on his beautiful face, which was slack from pleasure, cheeks flushed, brows furrowed slightly. 

It didn’t take long for Q to start pressing himself against Eliot’s finger, whining again for more. Eliot pulled out for a moment, squeezing more lube onto his fingers before pressing two against Q. When he looked up at Q again, he already looked _wrecked_. 

Eliot murmured soothing words as he pressed two fingers inside of him - “so beautiful, so good, you’re doing so well for me,” and Q’s mouth was slack, breath hitching, _hitching_. 

As Eliot crooked his fingers, he heard Q softly murmuring above him, “Eliot, Eliot, Eliot, _fuck_ , El,” as he pressed against his prostate.

Eliot continued working him open, adding another finger and listening to the desperate sounds that Q was making. He teased Q a little, stretching him, and until Q was begging for more. Eliot removed his fingers and leaned up to kiss Q firmly, swallowing the whine that threatened to escape at the emptiness. 

“Shh, I’ve got you,” Eliot murmured, tenderly, against Q’s mouth, “Don’t worry, baby.”

Q’s breath caught and he gasped softly, “Please, please, _please_ , El.” 

Eliot kissed him once more and then pulled back, hitching Q’s legs up and positioning himself between his spread thighs. He pressed his cock against Q’s hole, just resting it there for a moment, before pushing forward, pushing inside. He started slow and careful, his own breath catching at the tightness around him.

Q was moaning as Eliot filled him. Once he was inside completely, bottomed out and panting a little, Eliot leaned forward to press their mouths together. It was more a sharing of breath than a kiss as they waited for Q’s body to adjust to Eliot and for Eliot to get himself under control. 

“M’okay, El,” Q managed, “I want --,” his words broke off into a groan as Eliot began moving, slowly at first. He pulled out only slightly to start and then rocked his hips, pressing back in and moaning at the feeling of Q’s body around him.

“Is this what you want?” Eliot said, voice rough, but still teasing. 

Quentin nodded rapidly, desperate, eyes blown black. He reached for Eliot, trying to curl his arms around Eliot’s neck. 

Eliot let him, at the same time hitching his legs up higher and starting to fuck into him faster, bending to press their mouths together as he rolled his hips. They kissed for a moment, before it devolved to breathing against each other, panting. 

Q’s back arched a little, as Eliot pressed in just right, hitting his prostate and causing jolts of pleasure to spark behind his eyes. Eliot kept thrusting in, focusing on the angle that caused Q to arch and cry out, feeling Q’s cock rubbing against his stomach. 

“El, El, _Eliot_ , fuck,” Quentin breathed, voice rough as he came between them, clutching harder at Eliot’s neck, keeping him pulled close. 

Eliot slowed his thrusts to gentle rolls of his hips, watching Q shiver through the aftershocks of his orgasm. After his vision cleared, Quentin looked at him and, desperately, “Keep going, El, please, I want to feel you.” 

And Eliot wasn’t in any place to deny him. He never had been, really. Eliot picked up his pace and began fucking into Q again in earnest, chasing his own release. It was building and he could feel it, the heat curling low in his stomach. 

It didn’t take long for Eliot’s orgasm to hit and he moaned against Q’s mouth, thrusting forward, bottoming out as he came. He pressed their mouths together, sloppy and uncoordinated. Eliot’s body eventually gave out and he collapsed onto Quentin’s chest, eliciting a small ‘oof’ from the other man.

After a moment of heavy breathing, Eliot leaned back and pulled out of Q, rolling onto the bed beside him. With a quick wave of his hand he had cleaned up Q’s stomach, as well as his own, and then curled close to Q, tugging him against his chest and burying his nose into Q’s hair.

Quentin hummed softly, nuzzling against Eliot’s chest and neck, pressing a soft kiss to the skin in front of him. “Well,” he murmured, “Welcome back, I guess.” He laughed softly, kissing Eliot’s neck again. 

Eliot snorted, dropping a small kiss to Q’s hair and pulling back slightly, tipping Q’s face up towards him. His face went serious for a moment, nuzzling their noses together. “I love you,” a small press of their lips, “I’m going to keep showing you. Telling you. I’m not afraid anymore.”

Quentin just smiled that _beautiful_ smile and kissed him. 

The two of them must have fallen asleep, because the next thing that Eliot was aware of was the sun streaming in the window. They were curled close together, still naked and warm, as the morning light filled the room. Eliot stirred, eyes flickering open and taking in the scene around him. His vision fell to Q, who was awake and watching him, blinking slowly.

“Morning,” Eliot murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to Quentin’s forehead, “You’re _here_.” 

Quentin smiled gently, voice rough from sleep as he said, “I am. And so are you.” 

Eliot tucked Quentin’s head against his neck, running his fingers through Q’s too short hair. After a minute, Q moved back and tilted his head up to look at Eliot. 

“So. Last night happened,” Quentin said, biting his lip and grinning a little wider.

Eliot snorted. “It did. _God_ , you’re cute.” 

Quentin flushed, reaching up to tug Eliot’s hair gently. Eliot laughed, rolling them so that Quentin was underneath him, hand still tangled loosely in Eliot’s hair. Eliot leaned down to kiss him firmly on the mouth, not deepening the kiss any further, just saying a proper good morning. 

When Eliot broke the kiss, Q was adorably pink, eyes wide. “Good morning to you too,” he said on a breathy laugh, carding his fingers through Eliot’s hair more, “I guess that’s something I should probably get used to.” 

Eliot grinned down at him and kissed him again, softer, just a feather light touch of their lips. He pulled back just far enough to say, “Probably. I can’t imagine stopping any time soon.” 

He was right and by the time that the two of them managed to pull themselves out of bed, get dressed, and use the bathroom it was already late morning. More than likely everyone would be in the living room and Q _definitely_ had a pretty visible hickey. Which he made sure to halfheartedly complain about as they made their way out of Eliot’s - their - room. 

They walked into the public area of the house, immediately surrounded by chatter. Q was whisked away from Eliot, into conversation with Julia and Penny. Eliot watched him, heart feeling full and so, _so_ happy to have him here. Quentin turned his head just a little, making eye contact with Eliot and smiling at him, ready to start anew.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [saltandpepperbox](https://saltandpepperbox.tumblr.com) or twitter at sgt-bckybarnes.


End file.
